Zoë Ball, who gave birth to her second baby just before she turned 40, worries
that her generation has left it too late to have children.

Kate Garraway, the television presenter, is backing a campaign to encourage women to think about having children at a younger age. Now, Zoë Ball, who gave birth to her second baby, Nelly, just before she turned 40, says: “It was wonderful. But it’s no bad thing having kids in your 20s and 30s either.”

Ball, now 42, who is married to the pop star Norman Cook, adds: “I know a lot of people of my generation who have struggled to get pregnant – I don’t know whether it’s because we left it too late or we’ve not taken enough care of our bodies. But I wonder if the next generation will find a better balance and not leave it quite so long.”

The irreconcilable differences of Trevor and Cameron

Sir Trevor Nunn has a paternal attitude to Les Misérables after he directed the original English version of the hugely successful musical in 1985. Understandably, therefore, he felt “betrayed” when his fellow knight Cameron Mackintosh revived it, a quarter of a century on, without involving him.

Sir Cameron may well have been mindful of the pain that he caused to the great director when he announced on Thursday his intention to revive another of his great hits, Miss Saigon, next year to mark the 25th anniversary of its opening.

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The impresario went to great pains this time around to stress his respect for the team that originally made his other great show such a success. While he conceded that it had been “reimagined” for modern audiences, he said it would retain “Bob Avian’s legendary musical staging”.

Sir Cameron tried to make up with the sensitive Sir Trevor lately by inviting him to a party, but it did not lead to the rapprochement for which he had hoped. As the director was leaving, Sir Cameron theatrically put his arms around him and said: “We’re OK now, aren’t we Trevor?” Sir Trevor, clearly unmoved by his overture, responded coolly: “Nice party, Cameron” — and swiftly jumped into a cab.

Sir Cameron is planning to stage his revival of Miss Saigon at the Prince Edward Theatre, where Jersey Boys is currently playing. That show will, in turn, be relocated to the Piccadilly Theatre, which has finally bowed to the inevitable — as I confidently predicted — and accepted it has an irredeemable turkey on its hands with Viva Forever! That show is to close later this month.

Still, Dawn French, a friend of Jennifer Saunders, the creator of Viva Forever! blamed the critics the other day for being “unkind” about it, as if being kind was ever part of their job description. “It was nowhere near as bad,” she said of what the reviewers had said of it.